Adjacent and interconnected, Whistler and Blackcomb mountains form the single largest and most-visited ski resort in North America, with a very large and well-planned resort village between them. David McColm

Infamous Sudan Couloir on Blackcomb is one of the steepest trails in skiing, a double black diamond chute that top skiers come from around the world to attempt. It hosts a race each year. Mike Crane, Tourism Whistler

Most heli-skiing operations are weeklong trips in remote wilderness lodges, but Whistler Blackcomb is one of the few resorts that operates on-site heli-skiing, with access to another 430,000-plus acres, so guests can try it for just a single day. Mike Crane, Tourism Whistler

There are several high-alpine glaciers at Whistler Blackcomb that can hold snow year-round and are popular for summer training for pro skiers and riders. This is Hortsman Glacier on the front of Blackcomb Mountain. Mike Crane, Tourism Whistler

The Ski Callaghan Nordic Center was built for the 2010 Olympics and offers classic and skate skiing and snowshoeing for all abilities, and is one of the only places in North America offering public biathlon. Justa Jeskova, Tourism Whistler

There are 17 on-mountain bars and restaurants across the slopes of Whistler and Blackcomb. Shown here is the Glacier Creek Lodge at the base of the Glacier Express, one of the must-ride chairs at Blackcomb. Justa Jeskova, Tourism Whistler

The après scene in Whistler Village is huge, but one of the oldest and most popular hotspots is Dubh Linn Gate, an Irish pub right at the base of the slopes on the edge of the village. Justa Jeskova, Tourism Whistler

The Bearfoot Bistro has long been the top fine dining spot in Whistler Blackcomb and is considered one of the great meals in all of skiing. The restaurant recently added an ice bar vodka experience as well. Mike Crane, Tourism Whistler

A few minutes outside the village, the Nita Lake Lodge attracts skiers who want a more intimate and secluded experience and has long been one of the top choices at Whistler Blackcomb. It is also a very popular dinner spot. Mike Crane, Tourism Whistler

The unique Scandinave Spa is a large complex of outdoor hot and cold pools, saunas, steam rooms and a massage center that is a very popular destination activity in its own right, minutes from Whistler Village. Tourism Whistler

Off the mountains, Whistler Blackcomb has an endless variety of entertainment options, from dog sledding to biathlon to caving. One of the newly popular offbeat diversions is ax-throwing. Justa Jeskova, Tourism Whistler

Creekside Village is a smaller self-contained base area, separate from Whistler’s main village, and has some of the most affordable ski-in/ski-out lodging at the resort, as well as its own gondola for easy access. Mike Crane

Every winter, more skiers and snowboarders pick Canada’s Whistler Blackcomb than any other resort in North America. It is stunningly large, with the most skiable terrain (8,171 acres) and highest vertical rise (5,280 feet) on the continent, and each of its two interconnected mountains is bigger than other top-tier destination resorts. The result is virtually every snow condition, level of challenge, and type of terrain you could imagine.

“If you can’t find your favorite terrain here, you can’t find it anywhere,” wrote the editors at Ski Magazine, who ranked it North America’s best for 2017 – for the third year in a row. Conde Nast Traveler, Global Traveler and Travel Weekly are some of the many other publications rating it North America’s best, while London’s skiing-obsessed Telegraph awarded it best in the entire world status.

So what’s the big deal?

Whistler Blackcomb claims 8,171 acres of designated in-bounds skiing, including more than 200 marked trails, plus expansive bowl and glade zones, with even more available to experts hiking its ridges (it is also one of the few resorts that operates on-site heli-skiing, with access to another 430,000-plus acres).

This terrain is served by a vast network of three dozen lifts, including three new ones for the coming season. The highlight is a 10-passenger gondola that replaces two chairs previously required to get from the bottom of Blackcomb to the top, now a much faster single-ride ascent – for 4,000 skiers per hour, the greatest capacity of any lift in the U.S. or Canada.

This is part of the single biggest investment year in the resort’s history, $52 million spent by new owner Vail Resorts. The group “immediately poured a ton of money into improving the customer on-mountain experience in preparation for the 2018-2019 ski season,” said Rick Reichsfeld, president of Alpine Adventures, a ski tour packager. He noted other improvements including new high-speed 4- and 6-passenger chairs and additional on-mountain dining. The company also added Whistler Blackcomb to its multi-mountain international season pass, the Epic Pass, meaning skiers who hold the season pass for their home mountains – including thousands in places like New York, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Denver and Boston – can now ski here for free.

The user-friendly pedestrianized village is also a big attraction of Whistler, and matches the mountains in scope with more than 100 dining and drinking options of every ilk. You’ll also find hotels, condos and rental homes in every price point, up to luxury full-service resorts from Four Seasons and Fairmont.

Nightlife is big in Whistler Village, with lots of bars, restaurants and shops, all easily accessed on foot.(Photo: Justa Jeskova, Tourism Whistler)

“It’s just such a favorite that people keep going back again and again. There is also so much happening in the village and the varied terrain really does make all levels of skiers happy,” noted Sarah Plaskitt, founder of ski travel planning specialist Scout Ski.

Adjectives used in describing the resort always include superlatives, but all this begs the question: How big is big enough? No one skis more than 200 different trails in a vacation. All top ski resorts brag about their size, lift capacity, terrain and expansions. But does it matter?

I decided to find out by skiing a lot, for five days, making it a point to visit every part of both mountains, exploring all the different types of terrain and climate zones. This took me to nearly two-thirds of the runs at Whistler Blackcomb, and as an educated guess, I’d say that the average five-day visitor skis less than a quarter.

On one hand, no one needs 200 trails, but in another very real sense, having that many lets you cherry-pick the 40 or 50 that are best for you and your ideal snow conditions, and that is what makes a really big mountain better. The feeling that you’ve run out of terrain and have to ski the same stuff over and over limits a great ski vacation. There are more than two dozen resorts in North America that are big enough to offer this virtually unlimited feel. Whistler Blackcomb just happens to be the largest.

“It seems to be an East Coast thing, people come here and ask, ‘How many runs do you have?’ But we don’t think of it like that, we think in terms of how much varied terrain we have, all these different zones. We have a mix of the best Colorado-style terrain and the boundless European high-alpine zones and glacier skiing you would see in the Alps,” said Marc Riddell, longtime ski patroller turned resort marketing executive.

Adjacent and interconnected, Whistler and Blackcomb mountains form the single largest and most-visited ski resort in North America, with a very large and well-planned resort village between them.(Photo: David McColm)

Blackcomb and Whistler are adjacent sister mountains, and the bases are so close that you can stand in the plaza in the middle and decide whether to walk one minute to the lifts at either. The slopes themselves are physically separated, but in recent years they became linked by the Peak 2 Peak gondola. It was the longest unsupported single-span in the world when it opened, and a sort of theme park attraction in its own right – especially if you opt for one of the cabins with a vertigo-inducing glass floor.

Whistler is slightly bigger in terms of acreage, while Blackcomb is slightly taller, but both have over 100 trails, reach into what is known as a high-alpine zone reminiscent of the Alps, and both have multiple bowls, backside bowls, and glacier skiing. From top to bottom the three zones tend to feature either powder if it has snowed (lots of it!) or windblown hardpack, groomers and soft spring skiing conditions. Some people prefer one and stay in that zone all day, but a top-to-bottom run – a must at some point in your stay – will take you through noticeably changing surface conditions. It will also require stopping to catch your breath, more than once, and really demonstrate the size of these mountains.

In terms of sweeping generalizations, Blackcomb draws more locals, skews slightly more expert, and offers easier access to unique glacier skiing, while Whistler’s double black expert terrain is more in the form of open chutes, steeps and bowls than technical cliff bands and exposed rock. But in practice, both are laid out in very similar fashion and have plenty of every type of terrain for every skier and snowboarder, including first-timers. The easiest way to choose which to begin on any given day is to simply look up, see which is sunnier.

You will ski both during your visit, but don’t bother trying to ski both in one day, except for riding the Peak 2 Peak for the novelty, or as an expedient means to get back to your lodging. Each is bigger than most major ski resorts, you won’t get bored, and moving from one to the other is simply a waste of precious ski time.

Because the mountains are so big and sprawling, the easiest way to break it up for visitors is by lift. Spending a few hours riding the same lift while skiing different trails is the most efficient way to organize the slopes into understandable clusters, minimize map reading and commuting, and these 10 “must-ski” lifts cover the entire gamut of terrain the resort is famous for.

Showcase T-Bar: One unique appeal of Blackcomb is its glaciers, offering an alpine experience to anyone who has never skied on one before. Blackcomb Glacier includes both a manageable blue intermediate run plus the extreme double blacks of Garnet, Diamond, Ruby and Sapphire bowls, set within cliffs and Blackcomb’s calling card for true experts.

Glacier Express: Yes, it serves some of Blackcomb’s most extreme terrain on the steep walls of the glacier, but the main appeal is for “regular” experts who are not up for the hike over the ridge and stay on the front side. The quad bridges the high alpine and wooded central zones and serves a concentrated cluster of single black runs in the middle of the mountain, all of which begin in the open bowl expanse of the Horstman Glacier before dropping below treeline. These expert trails are a nice mix of long and winding and short and steep, all within the skill set of most advanced skiers and riders.

Seventh Heaven Express: On the front of Blackcomb’s high alpine summit, this quad packs a lot of bang for the buck, serving a broad array of blues and entry-level blacks, nearly a dozen in all, an unusual assortment of such accessible above-treeline trails, all funneling to the base of the lift. Solid intermediates might spend half a day skiing this one chair. It is also the choice of the most advanced experts, who come from around the world to drop into the mostly double black cliff zone of Jersey Cream Bowl, especially Sudan Couloir, a 2,500-vertical-foot steep chute that is tough enough when not bumped up yet often is. It hosts an annual extreme competition and has been ranked among both the 10 steepest and scariest trails in skiing.

Crystal Ridge Express:Something for everyone lies off this chair bridging the middle and lower sections of Blackcomb. To a skier’s left are a couple of single blacks, a handful of blues, and access to large expanses of single black glades such as Rider’s Revenge. Under the lift and to the right are several long beloved intermediate blue runs, while far right offers even more black and double black glades. Few chairs in skiing offer this much variety suitable for everyone from basic intermediates to true experts, with more sheltered spring-like conditions.

Blackcomb Gondola: This fast ride from the base serves an enormous variety of terrain spanning the middle and lower parts of the mountain previously covered by the Wizard and Solar Coaster Express chairs. This includes several terrain parks, the mountain’s super pipe, and a unique feature, a public snowcross course where you can experience one of the newest alpine Olympic disciplines. It also accesses beginner slow zones, several long, winding groomed green runs, a bevy of intermediate blue cruisers, and “entry level” short single blacks that make this area perfect for progressing.

Both Whistler and Blackcomb have extensive European-style high alpine terrain, with lost of bowls, chutes and glaciers.(Photo: Vail Resorts)

Whistler

Peak Express: The chair dramatically runs up the face of vast Whistler Bowl, the centerpiece of the upper third of the mountain. This is desirable expert terrain, with a few single black runs down the center, flanked by two double back chutes skiers right, and to the left a long ridge from which several black and double black trails drop into Bagel Bowl and West Bowl. For advanced skiers, there are an endless number of routes, and you could spend a whole day up here, but there is no easy way down.

Symphony Express: This high-speed quad serves the intermediate paradise of Symphony Amphitheatre, a large collection of bowl skiing on the backside of Whistler. The area includes mostly blue trails and extensive blue glade areas, a rare combination of large open bowl, glade skiing and runs cut through the trees, all accessible to less advanced skiers. There is also a ridge hike from the chair to black and double black faces down Flute and North Flute bowls. Head here if the sun is shining!

Harmony 6 Express: This fast six-passenger chair drops you on intermediate Harmony Ridge, which runs the full length of the alpine upper third of the mountain. As you descend you have endless choices of side routes off the ridge that include access to several bowls, lots of shorter single black runs, a few blues, and it also serves as the gateway to the Symphony Express chair. This is a perfect choice for advanced intermediates or newfound advanced skiers looking to step it up a notch without any scary topography.

Emerald Express: The prime lift for parks, families and beginners, this serves a mid-mountain slow skiing zone of groomed blues and greens, three terrain parks, and a long winding green trail to the base.

Creekside Gondola: Creekside Village is the only other access point to the resort besides Whistler Village, and the resort’s longest runs finish down here, including the thigh-burning Peak to Creek intermediate trail that winds from the summit to this lowest point. But the main reason people head to this overlooked corner of the resort is the famed Dave Murray Downhill, the site of the 2010 Winter Olympic Downhill. It is a long, fast but not technical single black, in two sections, upper and lower. The gondola only accesses the bottom half, but it’s the only way back from Creekside. Scout Ski’s Plaskitt picks this as her bargain secret: “My tip is stay in Creekside, a smaller village with direct access to Whistler Mountain. The lodging is a better value than the main village, with some great ski-in/ski-out options.”

Whistler is one of the few great ski resorts close to the ocean, and fresh fish, including Pacific Northwest salmon, is brought in regularly from Vancouver. This is a classic duo of salmon and tuna sashimi. Larry Olmsted for USA TODAY

Sushi Village is always packed and busy, and they don’t have enough room, so they stack the important stuff – like margarita mix – in the hallway with the bathrooms, along with dozens of framed photos and letters from famous guests. Larry Olmsted for USA TODAY

A ski resort is “big enough” if you can visit for five days, ski different areas every day, choose from terrain for all abilities – including bumps, steeps, bowls and groomers – and not have it feel old. This is hard to quantify exactly but as a rule of thumb, any mountain with 2,000-plus skiable acres and over 100 trails should qualify, which includes several dozen major resorts.

But these five are massive in the same way Whistler Blackcomb is, and easily offer all the skiing you could want from your vacation:

Park City, Utah: An amalgam of two existing resorts, the hybrid now spans more than 7,400 acres, has 330 trails, and gets some of the world’s best snow.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Wyoming: Jackson Hole has the nation’s highest vertical and sports 133 trails and more than 2,500 acres inbound – plus an adjacent 3,000 more in lift-served backcountry, open to better skiers.

Big Sky, Montana: Another combination of two existing resorts, Big Sky now sports more than 5,850 acres and around 250 runs serviced by three dozen lifts.

Heavenly, California/Nevada: The largest single resort in the popular Lake Tahoe region, Heavenly spans 4,630 acres and nearly 100 trails, showcasing very diverse terrain.

Vail, Colorado: For many years the most popular resort in the United States, Vail is also the largest single mountain ski area – you can be 5 miles from the base and still skiing the same peak. It has 5,289 acres – more than half of which is in open bowls – and just shy of 200 trails.

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USA TODAY Travel asked ZRankings, which uses a unique mix of hard data and expert opinions that paint a full picture of the 20 top ski resorts in North America, to create custom resort ratings. At No. 20 is Solitude Mountain Resort, with a Pure Awesomeness Factor (USAT-PAF) score of 80.7. With the glitz of Park City and the well-known credentials of Alta and Snowbird, Solitude Mountain Resort can get a little lost in the fray when it comes to Utah ski resorts. But it shouldn’t be. Like these other resorts, Solitude boasts easy access from a major international airport. Unlike the aforementioned group, however, Solitude’s slopes can be quite sparse, even on weekends, allowing the resort to live up to its moniker. Deer Valley, the new owner of Solitude, just upgraded the resort’s uppermost lift, the Summit Express, which will make getting to the nooks of Honeycomb Canyon even easier. Often, those nooks are full of powder, as Utah’s Big Cottonwood Canyon is one of the best places for snow on the planet — ranking Solitude No. 7 in North America for snow. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=147-solitude-mountain-resort Solitude Mountain Resort

No. 19: Taos, with a USAT-PAF score of 81. A large percentage of skiers at Taos are repeat visitors who swear by the place. There's something to these high, steep slopes that grabs a certain kind of skier by the ear and says, "this is THE place." The Kachina Peak lift, installed in 2014, gets skiers to an impressive 12,450 feet, and to a bevy of continuous steep lines rivaled by only a few resorts. The base village is quaint and quite compared to mainline resorts in Colorado. But the top-end lodging and dining here can compete with nearly anywhere. It takes a little more work to get here, as Albuquerque's airport is 135 miles away, but the tall pines and slopes of alpine New Mexico make it a worthwhile trip. For more information:zrankings.com/resort/show?id=162-taos-ski-resort Taos

No. 18: Revelstoke, with a USAT-PAF score of 81.4. About a decade ago a group of investors, flush during the real estate boom, decided to make this outpost into a destination ski resort. The result is a mountain with North America's largest vertical drop, at 5,620 feet, which allows skiers to travel more than a mile in altitude from the resort's peak to its base. The vistas at Revelstoke, which include inner British Columbia's Selkirk Mountains and the Columbia River, are among the best in skiing. Getting here can be challenging: The resort suggests flying into Kelowna, a small airport that's still two hours away. When we went, we flew to Calgary and drove 4 1/2 hours west, through Banff. Once here, however, skiers can do laps, largely alone, on the longest runs in North America. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=185-revelstoke Revelstoke

No. 17: Crested Butte, with a USAT-PAF score of 82. Crested Butte is a unique and genuine mountain town, with century-old buildings mingling with new resort properites that cater to the hard core and to those seeking luxury. The skiing here has a little bit of everything, but it's the technical terrain that makes Crested Butte stand apart. The steep fall lines here are the best in Colorado. That means the mountain requires a good helping of snow before it's 100% ready, so visits later in the winter make sense. For a Colorado resort, Crested Butte can be a little tougher to get to, as it's a four-hour drive from Denver and nearly two hours from Montrose's airport. Once in Crested Butte, however, skiers can fully unplug and soak up old-school Colorado. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=44-crested-butte-ski-resort Crested Butte

No. 16: Copper Mountain, with a USAT-PAF score of 82.1. Copper Mountain is one of the few big resorts in central Colorado not controlled by Vail Resorts. This means the Epic Pass won't work here, but it also means that crowds are generally thinner. Copper is on the East side of Vail pass, putting it 21 miles closer to Denver than Vail, but it does get less snow. The snow it does get, however, is very well preserved, as a whopping 55% of the resort's terrain faces north, keeping things nice and cold, even in the spring. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=42-copper-mountain Copper Mountain

No. 15: Squaw Valley, with a USAT-PAF score of 85.9. This legendary track is what made Shane McConkey the skier he was. None of us can be quite that good, but Squaw Valley still allows mortals to ride up KT-22 and Granite Chief to ply some of the finest terrain in North America. Squaw hosted the Winter Olympics in 1960, but most of the extensive base village has been added or remodeled since then. Squaw remains the only resort in North America with a funitel, a high-speed gondola that runs on two wires instead of one, allowing it to operate at ultra-fast speeds even in windy conditions. Getting to Squaw from the Reno airport is a relatively straight-forward shot down I-80 that only takes 52 minutes. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=149-squaw-valley Squaw Valley

No. 14: Big Sky, with a USAT-PAF score of 87.1. This behemoth 5,800-acre resort has mounds of terrain with very modest people traffic — a combination that all skiers seek out. The steeps off of Lone Peak are legitimate and deserve experts' respect. The rest of the skiing at Big Sky is rather mellow, offering families a great spot to spread out and ski in formation. The village has grown during the last decade to include a bevy of worthy lodging. Air service into Bozeman, about an hour away, is among the best of any regional ski airport. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=21-big-sky-resort Big Sky

No. 13: Deer Valley, with a USAT-PAF score of 88.7. Deer Valley is the ultimate in perfectly manicured luxury. The grooming is exquisite, the lodging perhaps unmatched in skiing, and the food — the food is worth the trip. Deer Valley's turkey chili, in particular, deserves an award all its own for being the best standard cafeteria fare in all of skiing. Deer Valley also has the extra equity of being on top of one of the best ski towns in North America in Park City, and easy access to Salt Lake City's airport, with directs to all major cities. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=47-deer-valley-resort Deer Valley

No. 12: Breckenridge, with a USAT-PAF score of 89.1. Also a member of the Vail Resorts family, Breckenridge often wins the title as the busiest ski mountain in the United States. There's lots of reasons people like it, from its varied terrain at altitude — its lifts top out at 12,840 feet — to Breckenridge the town, which is packed with shops and restaurants. The heart of this resort is great for families, with tons of wide groomers and little stashes in the trees. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=29-breckenridge-ski-resort Breckenridge

No. 11: Winter Park, with a USAT-PAF score of 89.5. Winter Park is somewhat removed from the tenderloin of ski mountains that line the central corridor of I-70 in Colorado. Being further north, on the opposite side of Berthoud Pass, keeps this place quieter than most other Colorado resorts. The base area and lodging has been built up well during the last 15 years. Winter Park is the No. 2 ranked resort for snow in Colorado, and it well preserves its annual bounty of 349 inches a year with 50% of its terrain facing north. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=180-winter-park-ski-resort Winter Park

No. 10: Beaver Creek, with a USAT-PAF score of 89.7. Just west on I-70 from Vail sits Beaver Creek, which, though it was built more than 30 years ago, still counts as one of the newer resorts in skiing. This place is known for its plush accommodations, but it can be an excellent spot for powder skiing — with the sixth best snow in Colorado — and some longer fall lines. Also not to be missed: free chocolate chip cookies at closing time. Look for the people in the blue jackets. The Beav is owned by Vail Resorts, which means it accepts the Epic Pass. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=17-beaver-creek-resort Beaver Creek

No. 9: Steamboat, with a USAT-PAF score of 89.9. This mountain is built for families seeking varied terrain and a bevy of on-mountain amenities and lodging. Steamboat ranks as the No. 2 resort in Colorado for snow quantity. It's also buoyed by one of the better ski towns in Colorado — one of the top three with Telluride and Aspen — and an airport that has built up excellent service across the country. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=150-steamboat-ski-resort Steamboat

No. 8: Alta, with a USAT-PAF score of 90.5. Alta is low on frills and high on powder and most other things that matter to a hard-core skiing experience. Sitting next door to Snowbird, Alta doesn't have the vertical of its neighbor, but it actually gets even more snow, making it ZRankings' No. 1 mountain in North America for snow. Skiing here is best done with a local, but it's something that should be done whether you find a local or not. Alta also offers skiers great access with a quick 45-minute drive from Salt Lake City's airport. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=4-alta-ski-area Alta

No. 7: Vail, with a USAT-PAF score of 90.8. Always a leader among the best ski resorts in Colorado, the flagship resort of the company that has made more of an impact on the ski industry than any other — Vail Resorts — deserves kudos. Vail constantly strives to improve its guests' experiences, including in the summer, when Vail Village has become almost as populated as during the winter. A new six-passenger Avanti Express has been installed for this winter, which will alleviate congestion on the front of the mountain. Vail also ranks highly for snow (No. 4 in Colorado). For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=169-vail-ski-resort Jack Affleck, Vail Resorts

No. 6: Snowbird, with a USAT-PAF score of 91.4. Snowbird is only 43 minutes from a major international airport in Salt Lake City, and it ranks No. 2 in North America for snow. That's a lot to love. Even better, Snowbird just dumped $35 million into its already impressive mountain for the coming winter. Improvements include a full remodel on rooms at The Cliff, the best ski hotel in America, and a new lodge at the top of the tram called The Summit. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=141-snowbird Snowbird

No. 5: Telluride, with a USAT-PAF score of 91.9. There exists no town at the base of a ski resort with a more stunning setting than Telluride's. This elite ski town completes the experience, but the skiing deserves plenty of credit. Telluride can cater to expert skiers seeking chutes and steeps, as well as beginners and intermediates looking for those easy-pitched rollers. For a dinner spot, Allred's, at the top of the gondola (free to ride for everybody) isn't to be missed. Adding to Telluride's cred: it's home to Wagner Skis, the best custom ski shop in the world. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=163-telluride-ski-resort Telluride

No. 4: Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, with a USAT-PAF score of 92.7. Jackson Hole has risen from being a sleepy winter outpost known for its summers to one of the vanguard ski resorts in all the world. This mountain is deservedly known for its expert terrain, which ranks No. 1 at ZRankings. But it also has a soft side, with a wide selection of groomers worth cruising and a portfolio of lodging — the Four Seasons at Jackson Hole is slopeside — and dining that marks it as an alpha resort. Its airport has non-stop service into 13 cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Newark. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=70-jackson-hole Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

No. 3: Whistler-Blackcomb, with a USAT-PAF score of 93.9. The largest ski resort in North America, Whistler-Blackcomb occupies two peaks in British Columbia's coastal range north of Vancouver. Getting there takes a little more work — flying to Vancouver plus a 100-minute drive to Whistler Village — but once there skiers have it all: elite snowfall, a bevy of good dining options and terrain for everybody. This season is off to a particularly excellent start, as Whistler has been socked with gobs of snow since Nov. 1. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=184-whistler Whistler-Blackcomb

No. 2: Aspen Snowmass, with a USAT-PAF score of 96.1. This ranking includes the four mountains that comprise the Aspen Snowmass empire: Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Aspen Snowmass and Buttermilk. There is terrain for all kinds of skiers across this network. The fall lines at Aspen Mountain and Highlands are long and steep; Buttermilk is perfect for kids. When flying to Aspen's airport, which receives more flights than any other regional ski town airport, the commute is only 10 minutes from tarmac to skiing. Aspen, like Park City, is one of the preeminent mountain towns in North America, with dining and shopping options to rival Manhattan. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=142-aspen-snowmass Jordan Curet, Aspen Daily News

No. 1: Park City Mountain Resort, with a USAT-PAF score of 99. After merging with Canyons, Park City is now the second largest ski resort in North America at 7,300 acres and the largest in the United States. Its score is boosted by its easy access to a major airport at 34 minutes, perhaps the best ski town in all of North America, and a plethora of varied terrain. The dining and nightlife offered in Park City are good enough to entertain celebrities, who descend on the town once a year for the Sundance Film Festival. Park City, because it's now owned by Vail Resorts, also accepts Vail's Epic Pass, one of the better deals in skiing. For more information: zrankings.com/resort/show?id=111-park-city-mountain-resort Park City Mountain Resort